Page 38: of Marine News Magazine (April 2012)

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38MNApril 2012West Coast Responders The world of oil spill response is complex and nowhere is it more complex than on the U.S. West Coast. Not only are federal and state regulations sometimes out of sync, the liability involved with supporting the transport of oil is huge. A company can be devastated by a single mistake. So, in addition to building accident prevention into oper- ations, industry must weave a very complex safety net. Thats easier said than done. Vessel and facility operators can reduce costs and com- plexity by joining a cooperative and avoiding having to contract with oil spill response organizations (OSROs) individually. Co-ops are separate corporations that dont perform spill response, but collect funds from their mem- bers and pay contractors to be ready to respond should the need arise. Contract OSROs, such as the National Response Corporation (NRC), conduct oil spill response when called upon by the co-ops and also subcontract to smaller OSROs with regional focuses and capabilities. In this way, large nationwide contractors can cache equip- ment and access personnel across the country and the world, enabling them to respond quickly no matter where an incident may occur. Weaving the safety net By Raina ClarkPENCO personnel provide emergency marine oil spill response and related environmental services from offices in Hawaii and Alaska.